“Annie Bethancourt puts on a show that explains the difference between raw talent and deft technique. Or, rather, she inhabits both.”
– Troy Johnson, Music Editor San Diego CityBeat
“a lucid mixture of Joni Mitchell and Fiona Apple that goes from hushed whispers, operatic heights, and then coal-walking wails, all within the same song.”
–Seth Combs
“Gorgeous!”
– Alison Sudol, A Fine Frenzy
“…a prolific storyteller, coming across as a modern-day Joni Mitchell with a hint of Janis Joplin thrown in at times you least expect it to surprise you with her range.”
– Ana Ammann, Oregon Music News
Annie Bethancourt is a singer/songwriter with an arresting voice and a story to tell. The daughter of one-time traveling folk musicians, Bethancourt grew up memorizing all the lyrics to Paul Simon songs, singing little ditties into hand-held tape recorders, and playing the piano with her toothbrush.
From her very first release, 2002′s “The Garage Sessions,” she has been heralded as an angelic voice with “a lot of talent on her lips and at her fingertips.” Now splitting her time between the firs of Portland, Oregon and the palm trees of Costa Rica, Bethancourt lives a life of wanderlust, and her music is, just like her scenery, an ever changing mixture of people and places, strange scenarios, and quirky tales.
Sounding a bit like Joni Mitchell with a touch of Janis Joplin in her delivery, Bethancourt is influenced by a wide range of artists such as Elliot Smith, Ben Harper, Fiona Apple and Ryan Adams.
Her eclectic inspiration is evident in Bethancourt’s newest full-length release, Three Hundred Suns. Recorded with producer Dallas Kruse at Zion Studios in Santa Ana, the album’s lush orchestration, choir-filled choruses, and cheery handclaps bring to mind the vibrant tones of old musicals and the giddy warmth of sunny days.
The 29 year-old singer/songwriter performs with a raw mixture of vulnerability, humor, heart-ache and longing that caused San Diego City Beat music editor Troy Johnson to proclaim, “Annie Bethancourt puts on a show that explains the difference between raw talent and deft technique. Or, rather, she inhabits both.”
Portlanders and Lilith Fair organizers agree that Bethancourt has talent, voting her into top position of the OurStage Lilith Talent Competition. As the winner, Bethancourt performed on Lilith’s Village Stage alongside other emerging artists, as well as some of her musical heroines on July 2nd. This is one rising artist you want to see now!
